1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to handheld electronic devices and, more particularly, to handheld electronic devices including a vibrator. The invention also relates to a method for vibrating a handheld electronic device.
2. Background Information
In known handheld electronic devices employing a vibrator, it is believed that there is only a single fixed, non-zero setting for the level of the vibrator motor revolutions per minute (RPM). This RPM level is typically set to correspond to a relatively very high vibration intensity level.
There are known cellular telephone devices, which implement personalized ring tones, based on installable ring tones, in combination with vibration. See, for example, http://free-cell-phone-deals.com/pages/Sprint-Nokia-3588i.htm; and http://www.northcoastpcs.com/PDF/Manuals/VX3100.pdf. It is believed that such known cellular telephone devices provide custom vibration techniques through ring tones (e.g., with a melody integrated circuit (IC)) and by turning vibration on and off, while employing a constant on/off vibrator duty cycle and a constant vibration intensity. One known cellular telephone device provides several vibrator settings along with tones in which “the number of vibrations” is varied. It is believed that such known cellular telephone device sequences the on and off pattern of the vibrator and employs a constant vibration intensity. It is believed that handheld controls for computer games including a vibrator employ a constant vibration intensity. It is known to provide a melody IC including a VIB register that could adjust the intensity of a directly driven vibrator in 128 steps.
It is known to provide an on and off option to enable or disable, respectively, a vibrator for the “out-of-holster” state of a handheld electronic device. Alternatively, for minimal user distraction, it is known to employ a light emitting diode for notification of an event in such “out-of-holster” state.
Accordingly, there is room for improvement in handheld electronic devices including a vibrator, and in methods for vibrating a handheld electronic device.